EMIL BOVE NAMED AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

     Boston, Mass. -- Emil Bove, a junior co-captain on the University at Albany men’s lacrosse team, has been selected as the America East Conference Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year as announced on Thursday, Aug. 8 by Commissioner Chris Monasch.

     Bove, a second-team Verizon national Academic All-America selection, posted a 4.00 cumulative grade point average in a dual major of public policy and economics. A 16-game starter as a long-stick midfielder, Bove totaled 49 ground balls in leading a defense that ranked eighth nationally at 8.06 goals per game.

     UAlbany won the America East regular-season title and reached the postseason tournament championship. The Great Danes went 9-7 overall and posted the best one-season turnaround in the program’s history.

     A native of Seneca Falls, N.Y., Bove is a Presidential Scholar and Dean’s List student and a member of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He has served an internship with the New York State Energy & Development Authority and has worked with the Capital Region Big Brothers & Big Sisters Mentor Program.

     Member institutions of the America East Conference for the 2001-02 academic year included Albany, Binghamton, Boston University, Hartford, Maine, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Stony Brook and Vermont.

MEN'S LACROSSE COMES UP SHORT IN AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

     Albany, N.Y. – Senior midfielder Tris Gillen scored the go-ahead goal with eight minutes and 35 seconds remaining, as Stony Brook captured the America East Championship with an 8-6 victory over Albany on Saturday, May 4 at Varsity Field. The Seawolves earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth with the conference’s automatic bid.

     Albany, the America East regular-season titleholder who finished with a 9-7 record, took a 6-5 lead early in the fourth quarter, when junior attacker Chris Driscoll converted a man-advantage situation off a feed from Luke Daquino.

Stony Brook (10-6) drew even as senior midfielder Denis Scannell, the championship’s Most Outstanding Player, scored his second goal of the game, a blast inside the left post with 9:10 left in the contest. The Seawolves took the lead 35 seconds later, when Gillen drove from behind the cage and slid an underhanded shot past Albany goalkeeper Kevin Rae.

     The Seawolves, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, but preseason favorite to win the conference crown, added an insurance goal with 4:37 to play. Kevin Pall tallied his 48th goal of the season, when he scored in transition from Steve Conlon on a play that originated off an offensive turnover.

     Stony Brook, who has reached double-figure victories for the first time since 1990, erased an early 2-0 deficit with a four-goal second quarter. Scannell gave his team the lead with a driving shot from the right side, before George LaFlare spun to his left and bounced a shot into the net for a 5-3 advantage.

     Albany’s Daquino, who scored three times and added one assist, sliced the gap to one goal with 44 seconds left before halftime. Michael Solazzo and Driscoll each had one goal and one assist for the Great Danes, who made a dramatic turnaround from last year’s 3-8 campaign.

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America East Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championship

Stony Brook 8, Albany 6

     Stony Brook – Scoring: Denis Scannell 2-0, Steve Conlon 1-1, Kevin Pall 1-0, George LaFlare 1-0, Michael Dworczyk 1-0, Matt Campolettano 1-0, Tris Gillen 1-0, Kyle Pearl 0-1, Dan DaPonte 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Steve Armsworthy (60:00, 13 saves, 6 GA).

     Albany – Scoring: Luke Daquino 3-1, Michael Solazzo 1-1, Chris Driscoll 1-1, Brendan Russell 1-0, Tim Primrose 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Kevin Rae (60:00, 13 saves, 8 GA).

America East Conference All-Tournament Team

     Denis Scannell (Stony Brook) – Most Outstanding Player, Steve Armsworthy (Stony Brook), Kevin Pall (Stony Brook), Alan Beach (Albany), Luke Daquino (Albany), Kevin Rae (Albany), Joe Baglio (Quinnipiac), Mike Baglio (Quinnipiac), Rorke Greene (Hartford), Brian LaMastro (Hartford).

MEN'S LACROSSE ADVANCES TO AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

     Albany, N.Y. – Freshman Luke Daquino scored a career-high five goals and added two assists, as top-seed Albany posted a 12-5 victory over Quinnipiac in the semifinals of the America East Conference Tournament on Wednesday, May 1 at Varsity Field. Albany (9-6) will entertain Stony Brook in Saturday's championship at 1:00 p.m.  The Seawolves turned back Hartford, 7-6 in overtime, in their semifinal.

     The Great Danes, who have won seven of their last eight games, used a stingy defense to post a 5-1 halftime lead. Freshman goalkeeper Kevin Rae, the conference’s rookie of the year, made six of his career-best 20 saves in the first quarter. Daquino, who had three goals and two assists in the first half, scored twice in the opening period.

     Quinnpiac, the fourth seed who dropped a double-overtime game to Albany in the regular season, used three consecutive goals to pull within 6-4 with 8:06 remaining in the third quarter. Dan Kerrigan converted a man-advantage opportunity off a feed from Mike Baglio.

     But Daquino, who also tied a career-high with seven points, helped Albany pull away with back-to-back goals. He rifled a shot that beat goalkeeper T.J. Barnett to the left side with 4:56 left in the third stanza, and then scored from a low angle at the top of the crease for a four-goal lead early in the final quarter.

     Quinnipiac (6-7) was still within striking distance, when Andy Pelletier’s goal closed the gap to 8-5. But the Great Danes, who will play for the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in the final, came back with goals 58 seconds apart by Christopher Preble and Brendan Russell.

     "We are using this momentum and taking the mentality that we are going to the NCAA Tournament," said Rae, who has made 10 or saves against eleven opponents this season.  "Our success on defense starts with forcing outside shots and sticking to the crease.  We've been doing a good job of that."

     Albany attacker Michael Solazzo finished with two goals and one assist, while Russell tallied a pair of goals. Barnett totaled 10 saves in the Quinnipiac cage.

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America East Conference Tournament – Semifinals

#1 Albany 12, #4 Quinnipiac 5

     Quinnipiac – Scoring: Jeff Speed 1-0, Joe Baglio 1-0, John Giordano 1-0, Andy Pelletier 1-0, Dan Kerrigan 1-0, Jim Lollo 0-1, Mike Baglio 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): T.J. Barnett (60:00, 10 saves, 12 GA).

     Albany – Scoring: Luke Daquino 5-2, Michael Solazzo 2-1, Brendan Russell 2-0, Jon Smith 1-1, Christopher Preble 1-1, Bobby Gabriel 1-0, Sean Donnellan 0-1, Chris Driscoll 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Kevin Rae (60:00, 20 saves, 5 GA).

     West Hartford, Conn. – Freshman Brendan Russell had two goals and two assists to lead Albany to a 9-4 triumph over Hartford in a battle of unbeaten America East Conference teams on Saturday, April 27 at Al-Marzook Field. The Great Danes won the America East regular-season title and clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s postseason tournament with the victory.

     Albany (8-6, AE 5-0) broke a 2-2 tie with a four-goal second quarter. Chris Driscoll, who had a pair of goals, gave his team the lead off a feed from Russell with 14:18 left in the period. Driscoll, a junior attacker, finished off that run with his team-leading 29th goal of the season for a 6-2 halftime advantage.

     The Great Danes, who have won six of their last seven games, pushed out to a five-goal lead, when Russell scored unassisted early in the third quarter. Hartford (9-6, AE 4-1) closed within 7-4 with 6:52 remaining in the stanza on Tyler Francey’s goal. But Russell and Luke Daquino, a freshman who had two goals and one assist, each found the net one minute apart to help their club pull away.

     Freshman goalkeeper Kevin Rae matched a season-high with 19 saves for the Great Danes, whose defense kept the nation’s top-scoring offense, at 14.0 goals per game, in check. Hartford’s Rorke Greene stopped 15 shots.

Albany hosts Quinnipiac, the fourth seed, in the America East’s semifinal round on Wednesday, May 1 at 3:00 p.m.

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Albany 9, Hartford 4

     Albany – Scoring: Brendan Russell 2-2, Chris Driscoll 2-0, Luke Daquino 2-1, Bobby Gabriel 1-1, Jon Smith 1-0, Michael Solazzo 1-0, Goalkeeper(s): Kevin Rae (60:00, 19 saves, 4 GA).

     Hartford – Scoring: Brian LaMastro 1-0, Travis Eckler 1-0, Jamell Vanterpool 1-0, Tyler Francey 1-0, Frank Fenimore 0-2, Tom Fallica 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Rorke Greene (60:00, 15 saves, 9 GA).